Australia can be a very desirable place for overseas students to take up tertiary studies. The best Australian universities rank close to the top of the Times Education Supplement rankings of world universities.
The Australian National University, the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney, the University of Queensland, the University of New South Wales, and Monash University in Melbourne were in the top 50 universities of the world in the 2009 rankings, well above than such famous US, UK, Canadian and European universities as Boston University, the Universities of Alberta, Wisconsin, Texas (Austin), the London School of Economics, Dartmouth, Purdue, St Andrews (where the British Royal Family sent Prince William), Emory, Leeds, and Rice.
As everywhere, regional universities in Australia vary in quality but the better ones are excellent and their degrees command the greatest respect. Western Australia is in the top 100. Adelaide and Macquarie are within the top 200; Adelaide outranks Georgetown, McMaster, Queen’s, Durham, Texas A&M, and Aberdeen. (See http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/hybrid.asp?typeCode=243 for 2008). We can of course informally advise as to the desirability of degrees from assorted Australian universities.
Norway, indeed, finds it expedient and cost-effective to provide funding for its tertiary students to take up study in Australia at regional universities rather than creating additional spaces at its own universities.
Australian tertiary qualifications, whether professional or trade, can provide a grounding for successful applications for permanent resident status. If it is your intention to study in Australia with this in mind, you should consult closely with us. Not all such qualifications do provide such a grounding, and the requirements change extremely frequently.
But if emigration to Australia is on your mind, it is a great advantage to obtain an Australian qualification, and the economic opportunities in Australia are limitless, especially for those with typical Indian initiative, energy, and talent.
On the other hand, UK qualifications (for example) don’t qualify foreign students for immigration there.
At the same time, Australian tertiary qualifications from the right institutions are held in the highest regard internationally. Many Indians have studied in Australia solely for the purpose of obtaining a great advantage in their career advancement in India.